


"are you from tennessee?"

by s-kiz (pigalle)



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: "can't let them go to waste", Bad Pick-Up Lines, Bang Chan is Oblivious, Bang Chan-centric, Canon Compliant, Flirting, Gen, I have more stuff already written so, Lee Minho | Lee Know-centric, Pick-Up Lines, Suggestive Themes, hopefully uploads won't end up being ages apart..., how come I have still not learnt how to tag my stuff?, i'll add tags as necessary as we go, is it really tho?, like probably - they're all really cheesy ones, minho's excuse to practise english, some lines are a little..., this is basically crack ig, which is why minho has so much fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2020-01-15 16:22:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18502621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pigalle/pseuds/s-kiz
Summary: “Are you from Tennessee?” A short pause before he continues, “Cause you’re the only ten I see.”Nothing with the words themself are wrong, if only that the pronunciation is a little awkward, but the sentence itself?“I’m from Sydney.” Chan frowns. “You know that. Or have you forgotten?” Chan feels a bit like a literal question mark, but he thinks it is only logical. Minho can't possibly have forgotten that Chan is from Australia, right?Alternatively, Minho decides to practice English by repeating pick-up lines. Surely a solid idea.Or, Chan suffers (of confusion).





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had soooo much fun writing this, even though it wasn’t supposed to catch a plot?? It just sort of happened??  
> Originally based on [this tweet](https://twitter.com/STRAYKIDSTFLN/status/967208224901488641?s=09), before it went out of hand.
> 
> I am: Sorry if there is still different tenses in here. I started writing in past tense because that’s what I usually do, but then somewhere along the beginning I was suddenly writing in present tense. I have gone through it a bit, but like, I might have gone back to past tense somewhere without noticing. It sort of depends on if I’m in writing mood or drafting mood — usually when I quickly write down “keys” for myself what should happen I do that in present tense, even if I write the story in past tense. I really don’t know why I do that.  
> Also, if you see “had” written like “hade” somewhere, I seem to have done that like all the time while writing this? Not sure why — maybe because of Swedish. Also, there might be a “memeber” somewhere because that is apparently also something I do unintentional.  
> (I think both of these is mostly just when I write on my phone, for some reason.)
> 
> Dialog in cursive is in English. Unless it’s just emphasised. Uh… I think it’s probably clear from case to case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just low key crack disguised as flirting, of flirting disguised as crack, whichever one you want.
> 
> Also, I feel like, if I'm gonna use "hyung" honorifics, I might as well do all the proper ones for names, so this includes "yah/ah" too.

There’s really no point learning pick-up lines if you can’t use them, right? It would be a waste of perfectly usable knowledge. Minho nods to himself. It’s perfectly reasonable. So, maybe…

Actually, Minho has the perfect person in mind. This will be so much fun!

—————

Chan is vary the second he sees Minho with that … that  _ smile _ on his lips. He has  _ something _ planned, and Chan isn’t sure he wants to get involved in whatever that is.

“Hey, Channie-hyung…”

Oh, he  _ definitely _ wants something.

“Can I practice a little English with you?” Minho adds a little pout for added effect, but really, there’s no need — Chan is always happy to help his members with English!

Chan sits up straighter, opening himself up in a clear invitation. “Of course, Minho-ya.”

“Perfect,” Minho says and lets himself fall down on the couch next to Chan — well, almost _on top_ _of_ Chan.

Chan leans back a tiny bit. “Uh, what or how exactly did you want to practice?”

“Can you just tell me if I say something wrong?” Minho smiles another one of his saccharine smiles, following after Chan that short distance.

“Uh, sure.”

“ _ Are you from Tennessee _ ?” A short pause before he continues, “ _ Cause you’re the only ten I see _ .”

Nothing with the words themself are wrong, if only that the pronunciation is a little awkward, but the sentence itself?

“ _ I’m from Sydney _ .” Chan frowns. “ _ You  _ know _ that. Or have you forgotten _ ?” Chan feels a bit like a literal question mark, but he thinks it is only logical. Minho can't possibly have forgotten that Chan is from Australia, right?

Minho sighs (why?) and stands up. “Yeah, I know, I was just trying something.”

“Oh, okay?” Chan still feels quite lost.

“See you later, hyung.”

“O...kay.”

—————

Minho hadn’t really expected much from Chan when he tried that, but… He had clearly had more faith in Chan than he should have had.

Well, it would be fun to see how far he can take this before Chan finally understands…

—————

“Hey, hyung?”

“Yeah?” Chan looks up from where he is chopping vegetables for dinner. “Did you want something?”

“Can I try some English again?” Minho looks at him, pleading, jutting his bottom lip out.

“Sure,” Chan answers, looking back to his work. “I don’t mind some company, and that shouldn’t be too hard to do at the same time.”

“Great!” Minho makes a move to jump up on the counter, but nope — not when Chan is cooking!

“Hey!”

“Fine.” Minho pouts, but settles leaning against the counter next to Chan.

“ _ If you were a steak, you would be well done _ .”

Chan looks up. Why? “ _ But _ …  _ I prefer meat when it’s more rare? _ Well done usually makes it so dry?”

“You’re not dry though,” Minho points out, his head slightly tilted to the side, in a habit Chan is sure he isn’t aware of.

“What? Me?”

Minho shakes his head and kicks of from the counter. “Nevermind, good luck with dinner.”

“Hey!” Chan calls after him, “you could help out, you know!”

Minho has the guts to just laugh as he walks away.

—————

Chan is warming up for dance practise the next time Minho comes to him. It’s only him, Woojin and Minho in the room, the kids having ran off to get something for breakfast — after Chan had stumbled in late, having once again woken up just minutes before they were leaving. He’d be fine until lunch, Chan had tried, but the kids had insisted.

“ _ Hey, Channie _ ,” Minho says sweetly “ _ tie your shoes! I don’t want you falling for anyone else _ .”

Chan mostly just registers the first words, stopping instantly to look at his shoes. Dancing with untied shoes would be a catastrophe waiting to happen. But, he finds that both his shoes are tied, just as he remembers them. Confused, he looks back at Minho.

“ _ They’re both already tied, though _ ?”

Minho shakes his head and skips off towards Woojin without a word.

“Hey,” Chan calls after him, suddenly remembering, “that’s ‘Chan-hyung’ for you!”

Minho just laughs.

—————

Chan is finished stretching when the kids come back with food, effectively distracting him completely from Minho’s strange behaviour from before.

Felix hands him two big, wrapped up sandwiches, and although he is smiling, his eyes are daring Chan to refuse them. He chooses not to say anything, just accepting them with a tentative smile of his own before sitting down with his back to the mirrors.

He’s halfway through the first sandwich when Minho saunters over to him, holding a few cherry tomatoes in his hand.

“ _ Do you like vegetables _ ?” Minho’s smile as he asks is almost  _ sickeningly _ sweet, to the point where Chan contemplates tuning him out completely. “ _ Because I love you from my head tomatoes _ .”

Chan stares at the tomatoes in Minho’s hand, trying with all his might to figure out what “head tomatoes” is supposed to mean, but he can’t for the life of him figure it out. He’s suddenly feeling like their roles are reversed, as if it is Minho testing Chan’s English and not the other way around.

Ignoring that problem, he answers, “ _ Yes _ ,” and holds out his hand. “ _ I love you too _ .”

Minho stares at Chan’s hand for a few very slow moments, blinking his eyes repeatedly in that exaggerated way of his. Just when Chan is ready to pull his hand back and laugh off whatever just happened, Minho drops a few of his tomatoes in Chan’s hand and stands up.

“I’ll just… yeah.” And then he’s gone, almost fleeing back to Woojin.

—————

“ _ Do you have a tan, or do you always look this hot? _ ”

That’s it, Minho is officially panicking. And what for?  _ Chan _ . He doesn’t even realise he said the words until Chan looks up at him with furrowed brows (under the hair curling  _ just so _ over his forehead). He has one hand playing with the chain around his neck, Minho guesses unconsciously.

Chan is looking at him oddly so Minho feels the need to defend himself. “What?”

“Minho-yah,” Chan says, almost slowly, “I’m literally so pale people joke I’m a vampire.”

Minho splutters for an acceptable answer, but his brain is still in panic mode.

Chan shifts, his bicep flexing as he keeps fidgeting with the chain.

_ Arms _ .

“Uh…” Minho says, oh so intelligently. Damn, he wants to hit himself.

But how can he possibly be expected to function, when Chan looks like  _ this _ , in a sleeveless top that leaves his arms completely  _ bare _ — it’s just not possible. Not even the fact that Chan’s hair is just a few details away from completely looking like he has broccoli on his head can seem to stop Minho’s brain from shutting down.

By some miracle he is saved from making more of a fool of himself by Jisung calling for Chan.

Minho slumbs down in a nearby chair and lets all air out of his lungs in a sigh of sudden relief. He still have performances to get through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it seems like I am back to writing now! I haven’t written anything in so long, and I hadn’t even planned on ever writing anything for Stray Kids… but here we are!
> 
> I refuse to take responsibility for the fact that hyung-line has literally called the other ones “the kids”.
> 
> Also! I am working on a supernatural-creature/vampire chan secret!identity uni au, so if you wanna talk/yell about that with me I'd be really happy - maybe then I can detangle what should actually happen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why am I writing this, you wonder? Well, I don’t know either.
> 
> "hopefully updates won't be ages apart" I wrote in the tags as I created this in april, just to not update until january, the next year....
> 
> also, it's literally 1am and I just finished writing like half of this

For a few days, Minho lays low, trying to spare himself the same embarrassment as last time. He knows it won’t work, and if he avoids Chan too much, he’ll just start worrying like the mother-hen he is.

—————

“ _Hey, Channie._ ”

“Hyung,” Chan says, mostly as a reflex.

Minho smirks and practically purrs out, “Aw, no need to call me hyung, _hyung_.”

“You know what I mean.” At least Chan presumes he does — you can never be too sure when it comes to Minho. “Did you need something or do you just get a kick out of annoying me?”

Technically Chan is working on some of their songs, but he’s not immersed enough yet that Minho is actually bothering him. Especially if he wants help with something.

“ _Yeah_ ,” Minho replies, and sticks his hand in one of his jeans pockets. “ _There’s something wrong with my phone. It doesn’t have your number in it._ ”

That certainly catches Chan’s attention, has his brain go almost into overdrive. “ _Shit, do you have any idea what happened? What if something happens and you need to get ahold of me. That’s not good!_ ”

MInho stares at him for a few moments, not moving more than slowly blinking. “What? I understood nothing of that.”

“Oh.” Chan rubs his neck. He does have a tendency to talk way too fast when he gets worked up, and in this particular situation that might not have been too great.

“Do you know what caused it? You should have my number in case something happens and you need to get ahold of me.”

“Yeah,” Minho says slowly, letting his hand fall back to his side. “It’s cool, I asked Woojin-hyung for it earlier and added it back in.”

“Okay, that’s a relief.”

“Yeah, just thought I’d let you know.” He stays silent for a few moments, almost enough to start making it awkward. “You were working on some songs, weren’t you? I shouldn’t bother you anymore, then.”

—————

Chan is running on maybe three hours of sleep that morning, trying to drown himself in coffee to actually wake up. Not that it's working.

He's currently alone in the kitchen, but their manager is expecting them ready in less than an hour and he's heard several people moving around, so he's sure his time in blessed silence will soon be cut short.

True to his guessing, Minho walks in barely five minutes later, instantly heading for the coffee pot when he sees Chan has already brewed coffee. He fills up a cup and leans against the counter before even saying a good morning to Chan.

"Good morning," Chan tells him (even though it is far from a good one), hoping to prompt something out of him.

Minho looks him up and down with slow blinks. " _Do your legs hurt from running through my dreams all night?_ "

" _Well, then I would have to have been sleeping, right?_ " It's a reflex to say it, one that Chan regrets as soon as the words leave his mouth.

Minho seems to suddenly be wide awake, straightening up his posture and frantically asking, "You didn't sleep?"

Before Chan has any chance of replying, of telling him he's wrong, Minho half turns and calls out, "Hyung!"

After just a moment and the sound of footsteps hurrying to the kitchen, Woojin pops his head in and asks, "Yes?"

"Chan-hyung didn't sleep!" Minho tattles, pointing an accusing finger at Chan.

Woojin gasps, and hurries over to Chan's side, taking his cheek between his palms. "Why I haven't you slept?"

"I have!" Chan protests, the words slightly muffled from how Woojin is squishing his cheeks. "Minho just misunderstood."

"I know you spoke English and I'm not amazing at it, but I know enough to understand when you say you haven't slept."

Chan pouts, unable to shake his head. "I have slept, just not _a lot_."

"How many hours?" Woojin asks, his eyes narrowed.

"Three?" Chan squeeks, knowing the reaction he'll get.

Woojin shakes his head, disappointed. Chan whines, feeling guilty. "I'll nap in the car?"

"You better," Woojin mutters, obviously trying to be threatening, but his concerned frown chancel out any hope at seeming intimidating.

—————

Chan gets home, slouching his way in through the doorway, wanting nothing more than to get into bed and fall asleep at once. Although, when he passes by the living room, there’s a light on, someone sitting in the sofa.

He makes his way over, practically collapsing onto the couch by Minho's feet. He's slumped over in a sad excuse of a pile, his body turned in a way Chan cannot understand how it's comfortable. Maybe it isn't.

"You okay?" he asks, patting one of Minho's legs.

"Yeah," Minho hums, and finally lifts his head up from where his neck was bent almost scarily far backwards. "Although, _my feet are getting cold… because you've knocked my socks off._ "

Chan blinks for a moment, his brain slowly trying to make sense of it. " _Oh, I did? Sorry._ "

" _No, that's-_ " Minho shakes his head and pushes himself up on his elbows. "You should go to sleep, hyung, c'mon."

He pushes himself fully upright, stands, and takes Chan's hand to pull him down the hallway to their bedroom.

—————

As an installed safety measure, Woojin and Minho had decided that one of them would start dragging Chan back to the dorm if he stayed too long at the company. Apparently, Minho decided to start doing it, seeing as Chan is being forcefully dragged from his studio at only 11pm. At least he'd let him safe everything and turn the computer off first.

"This isn't necessary," Chan grumbles in the elevator going down.

"I disagree." Minho stares him down, daring him to protest.

Fine, then. Chan turns away from him, crossing his arms in an effort not to pout. He may be sulking, but he _will not_ be caught pouting as well.

They're halfway back to the dorm when Minho getly knocks his shoulder against Chan, prompting him to finally look at Minho.

" _If I followed you home, would you keep me?_ "

Chan looks forward towards where they're walking, pussled, despite not even feeling tired yet. " _Well, I'm not gonna kick you out of the dorm._ "

Minho laughs, a sound bright and clear, like the night air under the stars. Beautiful. " _Of course._ "

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter _probably_ won't take as long, but I'm clearly not gonna promise anything...

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on:  
> [tumblr](https://s-kiz.tumblr.com/)  
> [amino](https://aminoapps.com/c/straykids/page/user/s-kiz/ng7z_rxsofVn712kdDeagPXrQNr55Ld4V0se)  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/s_k1z) (that i barely use)


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